Telephone pad attachment



United States Patent'l O ine Patented May i4, 'i957 TELEPHONE PADATTACHMENT Irving Iscoe, Hollywood, Calif. Application .lnly 27, 1956,Serial No. 600,606

6 Claims. (CL 45-.5)

The present invention relates to a writing pad holder and particularlyto a holder for a Writing pad with means on the holder for ready,removable attachment to a telephone.

Writing pads of various sorts have been widely used for recording briefmessages such as calls by telephone, orders for groceries and the lilte.Customarily the writing pad and a pencil are placed adjacent thetelephone. The use of such pads is generally unsatisfactory, however,especially when a person is attempting to use the telephone in one handand to wri-te with the other because the small loose pad slides aroundupon the supporting surface. Further, the pads frequently become mislaidand therefore are not available -at the time of need.

Attempts have been made heretofore to overcome these problems bydevising means to secure the writing pad permanently to the telephone.These devices also have proved unsatisfactory generally because theattachment means is secured to the telephone base only with difliculty.Moreover, the device usually requires multiple parts which are costly toproduce and which must be joined together in the manufacturing process,thereby increasing labor costs.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a padholder for attachment to a telephone without altering the constructionof the telephone and without requiring any tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for a writingpad that may be rigidly secured to the telephone base in one simplemanual movement, and just ias easily removed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a writing pad holderthat may be simply manufactured in one piece, which will be durable anduseful while being inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and `advantages. of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description and from the drawings lin which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a conventional telephone base havingsecured thereto a writing pad holder and pad embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View in perspective of the writing pad holder of Fig. 1 withthe pad removed for the salte of clarity;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the telephonev base showing themeans of rigidly and removably lattaching the writing pad holder to thebase;

Fig. 4 is a View in perspective, similar to Fig. 2, showing a modifiedform of the writing pad holder; and

Fig. 5 is a View in section, similar to Fig. 3, of said modified form.

Generally stated, the present invention relates to a unitary writing padholder of a type particularly adapted to removable attachment to thebase portion of a modern telephone, said pad holder including a rigidone-piece substantiallyv planar body upon which` a writing pad may bemounted, means tc removably secure the writing pad to the body, andinterlock means integral with the insists' body and adapted to pivotallyengage within a rearwardly opening carrying recess normally found belowthe hand set receiving cradle on a telephone base. In conventionaldevices such carrying recess is normally provided with a rib projectingdownward at its rear edge. The novel interlock means of the presentinvention includes an upstanding hooi; flange adapted to pivotalinsertion into the carrying recess in such a manner that a pointprovided on the flange is held in abutment against the downwardprojecting rib by the weight of the pad holder and writing pad.Moreover, the interlock means is adapted to tit snugly adjacent interiorsurfaces of the carrying recess so as not to detract from a normalusefulness of the recess when carrying the telephone. Desirably, thewriting pad holder body is provided With transversely eX- tendingportions adapted to engage side portions of the recess and therebyproperly orient the `angle of support of the pad at the rear of thetelephone.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, l@ indicates the conventionaltelephone base employed with modern telephones. A hand set receivingcradle l2 is provided adjacent upper surfaces of the telephone base.Below this cradle is 'provided the usual recess lli which has a rib leprojecting downward at its rear edge. As is well known, the portion ofthe telephone base 18 lying between the hand set receiving cradle andthe recess i4 forms a handle allowing the telephone to be easilytransported from one place to another.

The present invention contemplates a unitary Writing pad holder 2liadapted to pivotal engagement within the carrying recess of a telephonebase and to the rigid support of a writing pad in an easily accessibleposition to the rear of the telephone. ln its preferred embodiment thewriting pad holder is formed in one piece from a single sheet ofmaterial such as metal, plastic or composition, the pad carrying portion22 of said holder comprising a rigid substantially planar body uponwhich a writing pad may be mounted. lf the pad holder 20 is to beconstructed of Very thin material, as would generally be `desirable froma cost standpoint, longitudinally extending grooves 54 mayadvantageously be provided to strengthen the body 22 of the holderagainst the downward pressure of writing on the writing pad 26.

ln' a preferred embodiment illustrated in Figs. l to 3, the body 22 istransversely elongated and of approximately the length of a writing padto be mounted thereon. Guides or flanges 24 provided at the sides of thebody permit a conventional writing pad 26 to be easily and removablysecured thereto. As best seen in Fig. 3, the writing pad 26 is securedwithin the anges 24 by means of the usual cardboard backing which isslid from the side into the space between the anges and the body 22. Ifdesired, means such as the cylindrical bracket 2; may also be providedadjacent the pad-carrying portion to receive a pencil or other scribingdevice. As shown in Fig. l, a exible cord or chain 32 may be secured inapertures 3i? formed in the base and attached to the pencil, as at 34,to prevent its loss.

In accordance with the invention pivotally engageable interlock means d@are provided integral with the pad holder body adapting the holder to bereceived within the carrying recess 14 to thereby rigidly support theWriting pad at the rear of the telephone base. ln the embodiment ofFigs. l to 3, the pivotally engageable interlock means 4th comprises apair of hook flanges 4Z extending substantially perpendicularly upwardfrom the planar body 22 of the pad holder. Engaging portions of the hookflanges are preferably gently rounded as at dd and terminate in points4d adapted to abut against the inner surface of the downward projectingrib la of the carrying recess. lf desired, each of the points 46 may beprovided with a liattened upper surface 48 to permit a larger area ofabutment or retaining contact of the point against a correspondinglyattened upper surface normally found in the carrying recess 14.

To insert the novel writing pad holder of the invention into a telephonebase the holder is held in a substantially perpendicular position sothat the interlock means 40 may be inserted part way into the carryingrecess 14 of the base. The holder is now pivoted within the recess, uponthe engaging surfaces 44 of the hook llanges, until the points 46 of theinterlock means firmly abut against the inner surface of the downwardprojecting rib 16. Conceivably pivotal movement of the pad holder 20could be continued until the body 22 of the holder engaged the bottomsurface 50 of the recess 14. Desirably, however, the distance of theinterlock means 49 from the body of the holder is such that thetransversely extending guide anges 24 contact portions of the telephone'oase horizontally adjacent the recess 14 at exactly the moment desiredto properly orient the angle of inclination of the supported pad 26.Thus, as may be best seen in Fig. 3, the transversely extending bodycontacts the telephone base in such a manner that the pad is inclined atan angle of about 30 to the horizontal, although any desired angle maybe devised by varying the length of the body portion 52 (see Fig. 2).

When it is desired to remove the writing pad holder, it is onlynecessary to again pivot the device upwardly and, thereafter, to removethe interlocking means 40 from the recess 14. As will be apparent -toone skilled in the art, insertion or removal of the interlock means 4!)and pivotal engagement of the points 46 within the recess can beaccomplished in a moments time. Accordingly the manipulative proceduresinvolved in attaching or removing the pad-holding device from thetelephone are no longer a problem. Moreover, the interlock means beingadapted to t snugly adjacent the interior surfaces of the recess 14, thenormal usefulness of the recess in the carrying of the telephone fromplace to place is not impaired.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a modied form of the interlocking means inwhich a single hook flange is provided. In this form of the inventionall points along the contacting edge 43a abut against the inner surfaceof the downward protecting rib 16 so that somewhat more rigid support isprovided the pad holder. Moreover, as shown, the hook ange 42a need notpresent a smooth rounded engaging surface 44a, but may be formed as aseries of planes at angles to one another, with the uppermost place 48abeing adapted to abut or contact the interior flattened surface at thetop of the recess 14. In other respects the construction and use of themodified device may be the same as the device of Figs. l to 3.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the presentinvention makes possible a simple efficient attachment of a writing padto a telephone base, in a matter of seconds, with the pad thereafterbeing held rmly in position by its own weight and by the weight of thepad holder. In addition, the invention permits the writing pad holder tobe simply and inexpensively manufactured, in one piece, from low costmaterials such as sheet metal or plastic. Moreover, the presentinvention provides such a device with a pivotally engageable interlockmeans that, although tting easily into the carrying recess normallyfound in a telephone base, does not detract in any way from the normaluse of that recess in the transportation of the telephone from place toplace.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, manychanges in construction and widely differing embodiments andapplications of the invention will suggest themselves without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, clamps,adhesives, or other such means of attaching the pad to the pad holderbody 22 may be employed instead of the guides 24 as shown. In addition,although the pad and supporting body 22 are shown in transverse positionwith respect to the telephone base, a lengthwise orientation of the padcould be easily accomplished without substantial variation in thestructure illustrated. Furthermore, additional anges could be providedon the body portion 22 extending downwardly so as to provide means forholding an address or memo book or other such device adjacent the bottomsurface of the pad holder. Accordingly, it should be understood that thedisclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and arenot intended to be in any sense limiting.

I claim:

l. A unitary writing pad holder of a type particularly adapted toremovable attachment to the base portion of a modern telephone, saidbase portion including a hand set receiving cradle and a carrying recessopening rearward and located below said cradle and having a ribprojecting downward at its rear edge, said pad holder comprising a rigidone-piece substantially planar body upon which a writing pad may bemounted, means to removably secure a writing pad to the pad holder body,and pivotally engageable interlock means integral with said pad holderbody and adapting said body to rigid support by the base portion of saidtelephone, said interlock means including an upstanding hook flangepivotally insertable into said carrying recess in such manner that apoint provided on the ange is held in abutment against an inner portionof said downward projecting rib by the weight of said pad holder andwriting pad, said interlock means being constructed to tit snuglyadjacent interior surfaces of said carrying recess so as not to detractfrom a normal usefulness of said recess in carrying the telephone.

2. The writing pad holder of claim 1 in which said hook flange isprovided with a attened surface adjacent said point adapted to abutagainst a correspondingly attened upper surface found in said carryingrecess.

3. The Writing pad holder of claim 1 in which said pivotally engageableinterlock means comprises a pair of hook flanges integral with andextending substantially perpendicularly upward from the planar body ofsaid pad holder.

4. The writing pad holder of claim l in which grooves are providedextending longitudinally of said pad holder body to thereby permit arelatively thin but unbendable construction of said body.

5. A unitary writing pad holder of a type particularly adapted toremovable attachment to a telephone base, said base including a hand setreceiving cradle and a carrying recess opening rearward and locatedbelow said cradle and having a rib projecting downward at its rear edge,said pad holder comprising a rigid one-piece substantially planar bodyupon which a writing pad may be mount ed, means to removably secure awriting pad to the pad holder body, and pivotally engageable interlockmeans integral with said pad holder body and adapting said body to rigidsupport by the telephone base, said interlock means being pivotallyinsertable into said recess and into abutment with said downwardlyprojecting rib, said pad securing means extending transversely from saidpad holder body so as to engage portions of said telephone basehorizontally adjacent said carrying recess upon downward pivotalmovements of said body relative to said interlock means whereby said padholder and writing pad are held firmly in position by their own weight,by a pivotal wedg ing of said interlock means and by engagement of saidpad-securing means with the telephone base.

6. The writing pad holder of claim 5 in which said pad holder isdie-stamped from a single piece of sheet metal.

References Cited in the lle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,320,838 Watson June l, 1943 2,620,407 Nagy Dec. 2, 1952 2,693,509 SleeNov. 2, 1954 2,731,764 Zeller Jan. 24, 1956

